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I have just received a Dell T610 with an integrated Perc 6 controller and a single working disk installed. I have ordered another disk and want to create a RAID-1 configuration. The data on the C Drive is good and I want to keep it.

What are the best options to create the new hardware RAID and keep my original data?

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The PERC6 supports migrating from a single-disk RAID-0 to a 2-disk RAID-1, with the only documented requirement being that you add an additional disk of equal or greater capacity.

You will need OMSA (OpenManage Server Administrator) installed to pull this off - I don't believe the PERC BIOS gives an option for RAID type conversions or expansions. If you don't have it installed, go here and search for a "Managed Node" entry that matches your OS (get the full installer, not the patch).

In OMSA, you can modify a Virtual Disk's configuration with these steps:

  • Expand the tree view as follows: Storage > PERC6 > select "Virtual Disks"
  • Select "Reconfigure" from the "Available Tasks" drop-down menu next to your existing VD
  • Click "Execute"
  • Select the disk(s) to be added to the VD, then "Continue"
  • Select the desired RAID level, and type the new capacity into the text box (max configurable capacity will be noted below it), then "Continue"
  • Review your changes, and then click "Finish"

This info is available in the OpenManage "Server Administrator Storage Management User's Guide". Links for this change frequently, so just web-search the title for a current version. Look for the section in the doc labeled "Reconfiguring Virtual Disks" or something similar.

Note: Your question mentions "adding" hardware RAID. Though your current configuration isn't a multi-disk RAID, the PERC6 is almost certainly still managing the disk as a single-drive RAID0 with RAID config data on the disk and all. So technically this is a RAID config modification, since you're changing an existing Virtual Disk rather than adding a brand new one.

[Obligatory "please ensure you have backups of your data when using ANY type of RAID"]

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